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Chronicle of a Changing City

OPEN Aug. 22, Lower East SideCredit
Cary Conover for The New York Times

LUDLOW RESIDENCE, a sleek Lower East Side dormitory of the School of Visual Arts, has opened about one-third of its 20 stories to 120 students, mostly freshmen, from Baruch College. Kevin Ng, 20, a senior who spent his first three years at Baruch commuting from his parents’ home on Staten Island, was hired as a resident assistant in the building, Baruch’s first dorm, where students pay $1,100 a month for a diminutive single with a shared bathroom. “I still can’t believe I’m here,” he said Wednesday as he pointed out some of the perks at Ludlow: free laundry machines that send a text message when a load is done, a communal kitchen with stainless-steel appliances, views of the Williamsburg Bridge and the Empire State Building from some floors, and a landscaped terrace. Baruch’s vice president for student affairs, Ben Corpus, said that the college began searching for dorm space four years ago, and that in a survey, most students indicated they wanted to live in a dorm. “They still have some version of the ‘Animal House’ image in their minds when they think of the college experience,” Dr. Corpus said. “We’re happy to provide some of that spirit.” But no alcohol is allowed at Ludlow, so students mingled Monday at a “mocktail mixer” — juices, soda and the like. Not quite “Animal House,” though there was a foosball table.

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SHUT Sept. 4, Greenwich VillageCredit
Cary Conover for The New York Times

FAT BEATS, a hub for hip-hop vinyl since 1994, is becoming another chapter in the story of the death of record stores big and small. Fat Beats’ stores at 406 Avenue of the Americas and in Los Angeles are closing; its e-commerce Web site, music-distribution business and Brooklyn-based record label will continue. James Heinz, 27, an assistant manager who goes by the name J57 in the hip-hop group Brown Bag AllStars, said that since about 2007, fewer and fewer record collectors had climbed the crooked, graffiti-streaked flight of stairs to browse the bins at Fat Beats or gaze at the hundreds of autographed pictures lining its walls and ceiling. Pointing to a stack of albums by Nas, Common and D. J. Premier, Mr. Heinz said, “It’s easy to get a lot of this classic stuff online now.” He said that what he and his customers would miss the most were the “in-stores,” live appearances by up-and-coming stars. “In 1998, Eminem came here when he launched ‘Slim Shady,’ and there was a line wrapping around the block and back again,” he recalled. “It was epic.”

A version of this article appears in print on August 29, 2010, on Page MB2 of the New York edition with the headline: Chronicle of a Changing City. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe